SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Multiple Bulldogs set career-highs as the Bulldogs dropped both matches to Gardner-Webb (10-25, 25-22, 21-25, 22-25) and USC Upstate (25-23, 19-25, 20-25, 23-25) on Saturday at the Wofford Invitational.
 
Match 1 vs. Gardner-Webb
 
The Citadel (0-9) led in digs with 91, the most for the season, and tied with Gardner-Webb (7-6) in blocks with 10. Gardner-Webb led the match in kills with 52 compared to The Citadel's 41.
 
Rachel Reininger led the Bulldogs with 12 kills, followed by Jordyn Sims and Gwen Berry with nine each. Megan Stone recorded a match-high three aces.
 
Greta Pleuss recorded her second double-double with 28 assists and 18 digs. Jess Martin was tied with Pleuss with 18 digs. Luci Lippelgoos posted her third match of the season with six total blocks, including two solo blocks and four block assists.
 
Haedyn Crumbley led Gardner-Webb with nine kills.
 
Set 1
A kill from Savannah Freeman narrowed Gardner-Webb's lead to three at 9-6, but a 9-0 scoring run from Gardner-Webb increased their lead to 18-6. The Runnin' Bulldogs ended the set with a 4-1 run to take first set at 25-10.
 
Set 2
The Citadel scored the first two points of set two with kills from Reininger and Sims. Gardner-Webb responded with a 6-0 run to take a 6-2 lead. Gardner-Webb kept a four-point advantage at 11-7. The Citadel then regained the lead with a 7-0 run, sparked by a Reininger kill, putting the Bulldogs ahead 14-11. The Bulldogs lost the lead at 19-16 but managed to retake it on a 6-1 run with four kills, taking the lead at 22-20. The Citadel ended the set on a 3-0 run to take set two at 25-22.
 
Set 3
A kill from Lippelgoos tied the set at 7-7 early in the third set, then the Bulldogs posted a 4-0 scoring run to take a three-point lead at 12-9. Back-to-back kills from Gardner-Webb tied the set at 16-16, which they then followed with a 3-0 run to take the lead at 19-17. A kill from Sims and an attack error from Gardner-Webb reduced the lead to two at 23-21, but it wasn't enough as they took the third set on back-to-back kills at 25-21.
 
Set 4
The Citadel started the fourth set with a 6-1 run, featuring kills from Reininger, Sims, Lippelgoos, and Karlie Vogelheim. The lead grew to nine points after a 4-0 stretch from The Citadel at 17-8. The Bulldogs maintained a five-point advantage at 21-16, but Gardner-Webb responded with a 9-1 run to take the match from The Citadel at 25-22.
 
Match 2 vs. USC Upstate
The Citadel (0-10) achieved a season-high .230 hitting percentage with 55 kills, while USC Upstate posted (7-6) a .252 hitting percentage with 60 kills.
 
Three Bulldogs set new career-highs in kills with Rachel Reininger (19), Gwen Berry (13), and Luci Lippelgoos (10). Lippelgoos posted a team-leading .350 hitting percentage, her highest of the season, with over 20 attempts.
 
Lippelgoos also added four total blocks, bringing her season total to 35. Berry contributed 13 digs to record her first career double-double. Greta Pleuss recorded a career-high 47 assists.
 
Ady O'Grady led the Spartans with 23 kills.
 
Set 1
Both teams started the first set trying to gain an advantage until The Citadel went on a 4-0 scoring run, sparked by a Lippelgoos kill, making it 11-8. A service error by the Bulldogs gave the Spartans a two-point lead at 18-16, but the Bulldogs responded with another four-point run, helped by kills from Lippelgoos, Pleuss, and Reininger, to retake the lead at 20-18. The Citadel took the first set at 25-23 on a kill from Sims.
 
Set 2
The Citadel held an early 6-4 lead over the Spartans in the second set, but USC Upstate managed to tie the set at 7-7 with back-to-back kills. The Citadel responded with a kill from Reininger to take a 13-10 lead, but the Spartans answered back with a 6-0 run to take a three-point lead at 16-13. A service error from USC Upstate cut down their lead to 22-19, but it wasn't enough as they would end the set on 3-0 run at 25-19.
 
Set 3
USC Upstate held a 12-10 lead over the Bulldogs on a 3-0 run. The Citadel cut the lead to three on a kill from Lippelgoos and by taking advantage of an attack error from the Spartans at 20-17. The Bulldogs couldn't take the lead as the Spartans won the third set 25-20.
 
Set 4
The Citadel rallied from a five-point deficit with a 6-0 scoring run, highlighted by a kill from Berry to take the lead at 12-11. USC Upstate regained the lead at 19-16, but kills from Sims and Reininger narrowed the gap to 19-18. The Spartans maintained a one-point lead over The Citadel at 24-23, and a kill from the Spartans sealed the match at 25-23.
 
Up Next
The Citadel begins Southern Conference match play with two home matches against Wofford on Sept. 25 and Western Carolina on Sept. 26.